President Rodrigo Duterte met with MNLF founder Nur Misuari in Malacañang on Feb. 25, 2019. (Photo by ROBINSON NIÑAL JR. / Presidential Photographers Division)
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte said he was “in a hurry” to forge a deal with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari.
“Here in Mindanao, we were also grappling with so many fronts. I am dealing with the drug problem and at the same time, I am in a hurry to strike a deal with Nur Misuari,” Duterte said in a speech during the campaign rally of the the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in South Cotabato on Tuesday night.
The President’s statement came days after he revealed that Misuari had threatened to “go to war” if the government fails to pursue federalism.
READ: Misuari to declare war if gov’t fails to push federalism – Duterte
Misuari has said he wanted federalism even after the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), a product of the government’s negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a breakaway faction of the MNLF.
Duterte earlier ordered Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Carlito Galvez to craft a new deal with the MNLF of Misuari.
The government has not released details on any agreement it would have with Misuari.
Misuari is on trial at the Sandiganbayan for two counts of graft and two counts of malversation through falsification of public documents over the alleged anomalous purchase of educational materials when he was still governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The rebel leader is also facing rebellion charges for the 2013 Zamboanga siege.
The President has met Misuari twice in Malacañang this 2019. /cbb
READ: Duterte, Misuari meet anew in Malacañang